Betr announces key leadership promotions ahead of move into prediction markets

Kelsey Wilhelm

3 July 2026 at 7:50am UTC-4

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Real money gaming app Betr has made key leadership changes, announcing a new COO, CMO and CCO.

The company announced that the company’s first hired employee Alex Ursa has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer, “after serving as a foundational pillar of the business since its inception over four years ago.” Before joining Betr, Ursa worked at Flutter for eight years, last serving as Senior Product Director for FanDuel.

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Alex Kuwada, who has been with Betr for two years, has been promoted to Chief Marketing Officer, with the group noting that the executive “will lead acquisition, retention, VIP, and other key commercial functions.” Kuwada also previously worked at FanDuel, spending six years with the group, most recently as Senior Director of Growth.

Legacy hire Mike Denevi, the second employee hired at Betr, has been promoted to Chief Content Officer, following over four years as the group’s Head of Media. The group notes Denevi will “continue overseeing content and brand strategy for Betr.” Prior to Betr, Denevi spent over a decade at Bleacher Report, most recently as Director of Brand Strategy.

Speaking of the promotions, Betr Founder and CEO Joey Levy noted “We would not be where we are today without these three executives and I am thrilled to continue scaling Betr into a category defining business with them.”

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Betr is looking to expand into prediction markets later this year, while currently operating Betr Picks, Betr Social Sportsbook, Betr Social Casino and Betr Arcade – all within one app. The company was founded by former Youtube star turned boxer Jake Paul and Joey Levy, and lauds itself as “the world’s most followed real money gaming brand on social media.”

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The Backstory

Prediction markets reshape Betr’s next phase

Betr’s leadership reshuffle lands at a pivotal point for a company trying to move beyond its roots in social-driven real-money gaming and daily fantasy sports. By elevating Alex Ursa to chief operating officer, Alex Kuwada to chief marketing officer and Mike Denevi to chief content officer, the company is putting early operators and brand builders in charge as it prepares to enter prediction markets later this year.

The promotions also show how Betr is trying to keep control of its identity while expanding into a category that is attracting sportsbooks, data firms, technology companies and sports-rights holders. The company was built around the combined profiles of Joey Levy and Jake Paul, but its next phase is likely to depend more on operational execution, compliance, product depth and customer retention than celebrity reach alone.

That matters because prediction markets are no longer a niche adjacent to sports betting. They have become a strategic question for online gambling companies weighing whether event contracts can open new customer segments, defend against disruption or complicate their relationships with state regulators and gaming trade groups.

A broader app strategy came first

Betr had already been widening its product base before announcing the latest executive moves. The company recently launched Betr Arcade and revamped Betr Picks ahead of the NFL season, giving users a broader mix of fantasy sports and peer-to-peer skill games inside one app.

That expansion was important for two reasons. First, it reduced Betr’s dependence on a single product category. Betr Picks, launched in 2022, has grown into a daily fantasy sports pick ’em product available in 33 states and Washington, DC. Betr Arcade, meanwhile, went live in 29 states with four initial titles and entry points starting at US$1.25. The company said customers had already won more than US$250 million on the platform.

Second, the broader app strategy gave Betr more ways to test acquisition, retention and cross-sell mechanics before adding prediction markets. Kuwada’s promotion to chief marketing officer fits that trajectory. His remit includes acquisition, retention, VIP and other commercial functions, all of which become more complex when an operator moves from fantasy and skill gaming into event-based products that may appeal to overlapping but distinct audiences.

Ursa’s new role as chief operating officer also reflects the operational demands of that strategy. Betr’s app now spans daily fantasy, social sportsbook, social casino and arcade products. A prediction-market launch would add another layer of product, liquidity, risk, compliance and customer-service requirements.

The prediction-market field is filling quickly

Betr is not moving into an empty category. Prediction markets are drawing attention across the gaming and technology sectors, with companies trying to determine whether event contracts will compete with online sports betting or complement it.

London-based Moon Intelligence recently strengthened its leadership as it targeted US prediction markets, appointing Stephen Shaw as chief operations officer and Enda Kendrick as chief customer officer. The company said the hires would support liquidity, operations and growth for US prediction platforms. Shaw previously worked at Jump Trading and RISQ Capital, while Kendrick brought experience from sports betting exchanges Matchbook and Betdaq.

Those appointments point to a key difference between prediction markets and conventional sportsbook products. Liquidity, trading infrastructure and market operations can be as important as consumer marketing. Event-contract platforms need enough participation to support efficient pricing and customer confidence. For operators used to fixed-odds sportsbook economics or fantasy-style contests, that can require different talent and systems.

The category has also pulled in major US gambling companies. FanDuel and DraftKings have separately disclosed plans to launch prediction markets and have left the American Gaming Association, underscoring the tension between innovation and the traditional state-by-state sports betting model. For smaller or younger operators such as Betr, the risk is that the window to establish a differentiated position could narrow quickly if larger brands move aggressively.

Tech interest raises competitive questions

The competitive picture became more complicated when Meta’s interest in event contracts entered the conversation. Jefferies analyst James Wheatcroft argued that Meta’s prediction-market move was not necessarily dire for Flutter Entertainment or other online sports betting operators, citing regulatory, product and data advantages held by licensed gambling firms.

Meta’s reported Arena app, according to the New York Times article cited in that analysis, would not offer real-money betting and would be separate from Meta’s social media platforms. That distinction matters. A non-real-money product may have less consumer pull and less appeal to market makers than a regulated real-money platform. It also may sit differently from a legal and regulatory standpoint.

Still, Meta’s exploration of the space shows why Betr’s timing is notable. The company describes itself as the world’s most followed real-money gaming brand on social media, a position rooted in content, personality and distribution. Denevi’s elevation to chief content officer preserves that emphasis as prediction markets become more crowded. His background at Bleacher Report and his tenure leading Betr’s media operations suggest the company sees content as a core acquisition and engagement tool, not simply brand support.

For Betr, the challenge is turning social reach into durable product usage. Prediction markets could create more frequent engagement around sports, politics, entertainment and cultural events, depending on regulatory permissions. But high engagement does not automatically translate into defensible economics if competitors have deeper liquidity, broader licenses or larger promotional budgets.

Sports betting’s media ties are deepening

The expansion of prediction markets is also happening as gambling companies deepen their ties to sports media, athletes and leagues. That backdrop is relevant to Betr because the company has always blended gaming, sports culture and influencer-led content.

1xBet recently named Conor McGregor as a global brand ambassador ahead of his scheduled rematch with Max Holloway at UFC 329 in Las Vegas. The Curacao-based operator already had a roster of athlete partners including Roberto Carlos, Kai Sotto, Mark Striegel and Heinrich Klaasen. The McGregor deal reflected the continuing value betting brands place on high-profile sports personalities who can cut through crowded marketing channels.

The UFC itself has become increasingly comfortable with gambling partnerships. Bet365 became the UFC’s official sports betting partner in the US and Canada in March, with sportsbook integrations across live broadcasts. The UFC and parent company TKO Holdings also partnered with Polymarket last year as the UFC’s exclusive prediction market partner.

Those deals illustrate how closely sports betting, event markets and entertainment distribution are converging. Betr’s founders understand that convergence. Paul’s celebrity and combat-sports profile helped the company gain early attention, while Levy’s prior experience in sports betting helped shape the product strategy. The leadership promotions suggest Betr now wants to institutionalize that model with executives responsible for operations, marketing and content as the business grows more complex.

Regulation remains the central constraint

The regulatory environment remains the largest uncertainty around Betr’s move. Prediction markets in the US can sit at the intersection of commodities law, gaming law and state-level sports betting oversight. That ambiguity is part of the opportunity but also part of the risk.

The contrast with more conventional licensing regimes is clear in other markets. Entain recently revamped its New Zealand leadership before the launch of a regulated online casino framework under the Online Casino Gambling Act 2026. That law created a structured regime with 15 licenses, platform limits and transition deadlines for offshore operators. Companies such as Entain can plan around defined rules, bidding processes and market access conditions.

The US prediction-market landscape is less settled. Operators must navigate questions about what can be listed, who can participate, how products are marketed and whether state gambling regulators will challenge event contracts that resemble sports wagers. Those questions are especially important for a company such as Betr, which already operates consumer gaming products across many states.

That is why the leadership changes are more than routine promotions. Betr is moving from startup-style expansion into a phase where execution, compliance discipline and product sequencing will determine whether prediction markets become a growth engine or a distraction. The company has social reach, a diversified app and early employees now in senior posts. Its next test is whether those advantages translate in a category where the rules, competitors and customer expectations are still being written.